Carpenters, bricklayers, and other workmen using hand tools frequently need to measure lumber, distances between selected points, and a variety of other things connected with their work. The workman typically carries a conventional flexible tape measure with him to make the measurements.
The conventional flexible tape measure may comprise a metal or plastic housing with an elongated strip of flexible material of a selected length such as eight feet. The elongated strip of material may be metal, plastic, or cloth marked with suitable units of measurement and wound around a spring loaded shaft within the housing. In use, the free end of the tape is pulled far enough from the housing to expose enough tape to perform the desired measurement. When released, the spring loaded shaft retracts the tape into the housing.
The conventional tape measure is typically strapped to the workman's belt or carried in his pocket. In any case, the workman must put down the tools he is using to pick up and use the tape measure. Invariably, the tape measure will become misplaced, causing frustration and delay.
Several attempts have been made to overcome these problems by incorporating a tape measure with a hand tool. See, for example, the following patents:
__________________________________________________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. ISSUE DATE INVENTOR TITLE __________________________________________________________________________ 111,327 Jan 31, 1871 Dillingham SCREW DRIVER 166,099 July 27, 1875 Hastings COMBINED KNIFE AND TAPE LINE 667,031 Jan 29, 1901 McGill COMBINED TAPE MEASURE AND IMPLEMENT HANDLE 1,218,798 Mar 13, 1917 Nelson SCISSORS GUIDE AND TAPE MEASURE 1,797,360 Mar 24, 1931 Nee LUMBERMAN'S TOOL 2,194,307 Mar 19, 1940 Jackson PAPERHANGER'S KNIFE 2,952,025 Sep 13, 1960 Johnson TAPE MEASURING GUIDE KNIFE FOR CUTTING SHEET ROCK, PLASTER BOARD AND SIMILAR MATERIALS 3,119,424 Jan 28, 1964 Henry UTILITY TOOL FOR CARPENTER 4,794,692 Jan 3, 1989 Wang EXTENDABLE AND RETRACT- ABLE MULTIPURPOSE MINI- ATURE HAND TOOL FOR USE IN MEASUREMENT, SNIP- PING AND CUTTING __________________________________________________________________________
Some of the foregoing prior art uses the conventional tape measure with the flexible strip, marked with suitable indicia for measuring, wrapped around a coiled spring to retract the measuring strip after use. This arrangement is too bulky to be satisfactorily housed in the handle of a tool such as a hammer so that the tape extends longitudinally of the handle. Others, U.S. Pat. No. 1,218,798 to Nelson, for example, locates the flexible tape beside the coiled spring, but this arrangement merely repositions the bulk in a direction transversely of the handle and does not conform with the shape of a hammer handle. The tape 110 in U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,424 to Henry extends longitudinally of the tool, but the tape is housed in the relatively bulky head of the tool instead of in the relatively narrow handle.